


I Can't Wait to Be Your Number One

by spideysmjs



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Peter's an idiot, Pining, With a happy ending!, are we surprised?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 16:14:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21413005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spideysmjs/pseuds/spideysmjs
Summary: He watches MJ as she watches the documentary with intent, grinning at her captivation to the narrator’s explanation of the new episode, her hair falling in a way that seems perfect and messy at the same time. The Saturday sunshine slips through the window behind her, creating rays that outlined her head.MJ’s his best friend – his favorite person.“What are you staring at, Parker?” she grabs his attention.“Nothing,” he answers, all too quickly.Inspired after "Best Friend" by Rex Orange County.
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Comments: 16
Kudos: 161





	I Can't Wait to Be Your Number One

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [This Love (Is Ours)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21327103) by [seekrest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest). 

> Special shoutout to [seekrest's new series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1537501) because they're right - there are a lot of songs that remind me of this couple.

_ I wanna be your favorite boy _

_ I wanna be the one that makes your day  
_

_ The one you think about as you lie awake  
_

_ I can't wait to be your number one  
_

_ I'll be your biggest fan and you'll be mine_

* * *

“Come on, Peter, _ please_?” 

He’s hesitant.

For one, his and Ned’s superintendent could catch them throwing a party – which they aren’t allowed according to their lease agreement – and two, Peter’s not really up for being surrounded by an abundance of bodies when he prefers a quiet night. Then again, 21st birthdays are apparently a big deal and, according to both Ned and MJ, Peter deserves to be around people that care about him. 

He sighs. “Sure, okay, Ned. We can do that.” 

“You’re not gonna regret it, dude!” Ned offers his hand and pulls him into a slight hug before clapping his hands repeatedly in sheer excitement of being able to host a kickback for Peter. During their hug, Peter’s eyes shift to MJ, who tugs her lips humorously at the sight of Ned’s overly enthusiastic reaction. Ned’s definitely more excited than either of the two, as he gets up from the couch and mumbles about purchasing alcohol for their weekend celebration.

As soon as he’s out of the door, MJ moves from the single recliner chair and sits next to Peter. 

“It’s your birthday this weekend, but Leeds is definitely doing more celebrating than you. What’s up, Parker?” she turns her body to face him and props her elbows on the top of the couch, leaning comfortably into their conversation. 

He doesn’t want to lie to MJ, but there are some things that he needs to keep from her – like the fact that it bothers him when he realizes she’s going to invite Brad Davis, this supposedly really cute, tall photographer in her art course. And it bothers him because of the everlasting crush he’d been nursing on her since their freshman year of college when they met in the hall of the dorm building.

Peter was heading out in search of last-minute snacks for his and Ned’s late-night Netflix marathon when he saw a girl sitting on the bottom of the stairs leading to the exit, sniffling and hunched over. Being the good-natured person that he was, Peter sat down next to her and asked if she was okay. She returned to him a middle finger and a cold “_ fuck off” _as she looked up from her curled position and looked at him face-to-face. 

Immediately, he pulled himself away from the steps and toward the vending machine across the lobby to select however many snacks he could fit with $7 cash. He punched in different number selections and leaned against the glass of the machine with his arms crossed, focusing on the spiral of Nacho Cheese Doritos loosening from the A5 section and dropping down to the bottom.

When he felt a tap on his shoulder, he saw that it had been the same girl who flipped him off not five minutes ago, offering an apology with glistening red eyes and a solemn smile. Once he scooped the snacks, he invited the girl – MJ – to his and Ned’s Netlfix Marathon when he discovered that her high school boyfriend broke up with her that night. 

“I’m not – I don’t usually cry over stupid shit like this, I mean, I knew that we’d never last forever, or anything it’s just–” 

“It’s okay. It’s still sad. You don’t have to explain yourself,” Peter smiled as he opened the door and introduced her to Ned. After that night, she’d joined the two boys for their movie nights nearly every weekend, and Peter’s crush on her only grew deeper and fonder.

And now, almost three years later, Peter’s watched MJ from the sidelines, never finding the right opportunity to tell her how he feels because every time he looks at her, he feels like he stood up too quickly and his brain goes blank. What started off as a crush transformed into a longing to hold her hand, to make her days better, to be her favorite person. The universe, Peter thinks, understands that he and MJ would be too powerful if he found the courage to just _tell her_. 

But he doesn’t.

So he lies when he answers MJ and says, “Nothing’s up.” 

“Sure,” she raises her eyebrows. 

When Friday rolls around, Peter’s anticipation for his party remains the same as earlier that week - slightly hesitant and a little anxious. He’s staring at himself in the bathroom mirror, combing his hair to wear it looks naturally done but not too worn out. Though, he has no idea who he’d want to impress other than MJ - who doesn’t need or want to be impressed by Peter whatsoever. While Peter wishes nothing more than to just be _hers, _he knows that she’d never go for someone like him.

She’s complex, intellectual, tough. 

He’s plain, clueless, soft. 

And that’s why they’re perfect as friends - best friends. Nothing more. 

“You’ve been mumbling to yourself in the mirror for quite some time, Parker,” he jumps at the sound of her naturally unexcited voice, only to turn around and meet eyes with the deadpan stare that usually comes along with it. She’s standing under the door frame that Peter regrettably left open while combing gel into his hair, her arms crossed. 

“Let’s be honest, this isn’t the worst thing you’ve caught me doing,” he shrugs. MJ would always appear under his doorway, catching Peter in awkward situations including, but not limited to: flexing his abs in the mirror, crying while reading _ Me Before You, _or dancing alone (or so he thought) to “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston. 

“It’s probably the biggest benefit of being your friend,” she declares, raising her eyebrows - not once faltering from the cool demeanor plastered on her face when she caught his attention. 

“Woah, woah wait… We’re friends?”

“Get out of here,” she rolls her eyes, “but anyway, when should I tell Brad to come?”

The mention of Brad’s name hurts Peter more than he lets on.

“Uh, I think that’s a Ned question,” he carefully places his hair product back into the medicine cabinet, proud of the way he and Ned have kept their restroom clean and afraid of the potential puking it might witness tonight. “But if I were to guestimate, maybe 10?” 

“Cool,” she walks away. 

Peter sighs. 

He looks at his face in the mirror, a bit more deflated than when he began to get ready. 

At half-past 10, several of his friends from his first-year residence hall, engineering major, and even high school, show up to the apartment all in celebration of him. Some guests, like MJ, had brought plus ones who stood idly in the corner of the apartment carrying a red cup to occupy themselves. Peter feels for them because, although he’s surrounded by different people from different spaces in his life, he doesn’t feel like tonight was for him. 

It’s not that he really wants the night to be _for _him, anyway – he’s entertained by the way his friends are enjoying themselves, and he’s grateful that they’ve all gathered around to celebrate another year of his life, but the thing is, he doesn’t really _deserve _such praise. The friendships he’s made since growing out of his shell have been surprisingly extensive, but he does it out of the pure joy of getting to know others, of making meaningful connections. 

And although Peter guesses this gathering is a testament to how much of an impact people in his life have given him and although the number of people in the room has most certainly passed maximum occupancy, he still feels alone. 

Feeling empty and unfulfilled – lingering insecurity lodged in the back of his head telling him that these people aren’t really his friends, that they’re here for the abundance of alcohol and opportunity to get fucked up one more time before midterm season places all of them into the crowded library. 

Peter finds himself leaning against the wall furthest from the collection of liquors people have gifted him, sipping on a bottle of Stella Artois, not really wanting to participate in the late-night buzz, when Brad Davis struts in fashionably late with his film camera and dopey smile as soon as he meets eyes with MJ. 

Even more, loneliness creeps upon him. 

Ned, being the wonderful best friend he is, leans against the same wall and wraps one arm around Peter’s shoulder, hiccuping further and further away from sobriety. 

“Peter, you need to get laid or something,” Ned blurts out.

“Hey,” he frowns. 

“You know I’m right, dude! Can’t keep fixating on one person - especially if you aren’t going to do anything about it, like, ever. You’ve had so many chances now.”

“I don’t want to make it seem like she owes me anything because I listen to her relationship problems,” he whispers, although no one’s paying attention to their conversations.

“She’s not going to think that.”

“It’s MJ. She gave you a 30-minute lecture about why you should never use the term friend zone.”

“Okay, but that’s not the friend zone.”

“That’s exactly what the friend zone is. You never listen, man. And that’s why I’m MJ’s favorite,” Peter raises his bottle and finishes the few sips left in the green bottle of beer.

“Do you see yourself talking? You _are _MJ’s favorite. I say you go for it,” Ned slurs.

“No no no, that’s okay. Look at her, she’s head over heels for this guy,” Peter gestures to the obscene image of Brad and MJ taking a shot of together, MJ throwing her head back as Brad executes a joke with over-exaggeration. Peter bets he’s funnier than Brad Davis. “I’d rather have her in my life for a long time than risk losing her for doing something dumb like saying how I feel about her.”

So he commits to that promise for the rest of their third year because having someone like Michelle Jones in his life is rare, beautiful, exhilarating. And he plans on keeping it that way for as long as he can. 

* * *

Somehow, Ned convinces Peter to go on dates the summer leading up to their final year in college. Most of them aren’t very worthwhile, filled with awkward silences due to lack of effort in Peter’s end – if he was being honest. But other times, to Ned’s incredible annoyance, it really would be the date. It was toward the end of their break when Ned finally snaps at Peter.

“All he did was show me pictures of his dragon lizard, and honestly, it was pretty cool until I realized that’s all that was cool about him,” he throws his hands up in the air after Ned scolds him for ending the date too early. 

“Dude, if you’re really going to just nitpick every bad thing about the people you match with on Tinder, then just – just… I don’t know. Just stop dating, then,” Ned scratches his head in frustration of his best friend refusing to try a second date with anyone.

As if the universe was listening to Peter’s misfortunes of dating, the sound of a new match alert graced his phone. 

“Felicia,” he reads, recalling back to the moment where he swiped right on her two days ago because his silver hair caught his eye as well as her photos dressed in a leather black catsuit from Halloween.

When he opens the app, there’s already a message awaiting his response.

  
  


**Felicia: **I think we have a problem here.

**Peter: **Hmm, what’s the problem?

**Felicia: **Your bio says you’re a dog person, but I’m definitely dressed as a cat.

**Peter: **I guess we’ve got ourselves in a bit of a situation. Care to change my mind?

**Felicia: **Have drinks with me on Saturday night and you’ll find out. ;)

  
  


“I don’t, Ned, I’m kind of fucking nervous,” Peter paces back and forth in front of their TV as Ned’s trying to focus on a new episode of _ Queer Eye_, which MJ had gotten the trio into a couple of weeks ago. He’s already changed three different times, finally deciding on a tight gray t-shirt that MJ once complimented his arms in because, from the messages between Felicia and him, he _needs _to give off an air of confidence.

“You’ll be fine - she’s into you, dude,” Ned shifts his head left and right as Peter continues to block the view. When there’s a knock on the door, the two best friends both call in whoever’s behind it. 

“Okay, listen – I know I’m probably disrupting whatever marathon you’re doing, but I _ need _to hang out with you dorks,” MJ storms in with a jumbo bag of nacho chips and a Tupperware of guacamole in her hands. “Brad doesn’t like watching murder documentaries because he thinks it’s weird and creepy, so I scolded him for it, and he took me _way _too seriously. I was clearly joking, so we got into this weird… silent thing, so I left his place.”

She exhales after her long ramble, plopping herself next to Ned, who helplessly pauses _ Queer Eye _because clearly no one cares about what _he _wants to do.

“Why are you dressed like that, Parker?” she squints at Peter.

“Like–like what?” he stutters, putting his hands on his hips, then behind his back, then his hips again. 

“Like you’re going out,” she states as a matter of fact.

“Because I’m going out.”

“What? Where?”

“It’s just, uh, drinks and…”

“It’s a date,” Ned cuts Peter’s explanation short, rolling his eyes. 

“Oh,” MJ lets out. “You date people?” 

Peter can feel his ears burning. He didn’t really know what to respond because, yes, he’s dating people – but was it MJ’s business? Then again, she is still his best friend - despite the fact that Peter couldn’t stand Brad Davis and his entitled commentary on how proper photography works or how to cut videos properly. 

“Uh, yeah… kind of,” he answers. MJ’s shoulders slump down as she leans against the cushion of the coach. Peter looks over to Ned, who offers a clueless shrug before picking up the remote and continuing episode. 

“Well, have fun then. Loser,” she crosses her arms and leans her head on Ned’s shoulder, no longer paying attention to Peter.

As he heads out of his apartment, Peter can’t help but feel tense from the conversation he had with MJ. Though it was quick, the sharpness of her last words cut through Peter’s mind in a way that would leave a scar. 

He’s allowed to go on dates, he’s allowed to move on from the unrequited feelings he has for his best friend – especially because he knew for certain that she could never return those feelings, that she’s with Brad, and that they’ll never be more than friends. 

Peter tells himself again he’s okay with it – he really is. Why else would he be actively dating others? He makes his way to the bar Felicia suggested, repeating constantly to himself that he’s lucky to have MJ in his life in the capacity that he does. MJ’s his best friend (aside from Ned), the person who’s willing to be there for him no matter what because she knows he’d do the same for her. 

* * *

“Who drinks oat milk?” Felicia asks, snooping around Peter’s kitchen fridge donning his NASA t-shirt, and only that shirt. 

“Oh, it’s MJ’s,” Peter answers from the couch, picking a show to watch after sleeping in with Felicia on a Saturday morning. It’s been exactly one month and a day since their first date, this morning is the first to wake up next to Felicia rather than alone after either one of them leaving after having sex – mostly a request from her.

“So she just keeps her milk around here?” Peter hears the slight slam of the refrigerator door. 

“Sometimes she keeps other things,” he selects _ Friends _as default when Felicia comes back to him, snaking her arms around his neck and propping her legs on his lap. 

“Hey,” he says and smiles at her.

“Maybe I should keep my shit around,” Felicia purses her lips and delivers a declarative stare. 

“Why not?” he gives her a peck on the nose. “The more the merrier.” 

“Right,” she huffs and disentangles herself from Peter’s limbs and places her head on his lap. 

The request was strange for Peter, but not because he didn’t love the idea of Felicia keeping her things around here, but that they haven’t necessarily put a label on what they are – and to have a drawer full of her items without being able to call her his girlfriend isn’t very clear. But then again, Felicia’s a wild card. 

“Thinking of making you public, you know,” she looks up at him, mumbling her decisions.

“Yeah?” he grins. 

“Yeah,” she teases, “but you know you’re gonna have to work on it.”

“I can do that,” he plays along, re-shifting their bodies so they’re facing each other. He brushes her cheek with his fingers and lands a kiss on her lips that Felicia, in return, deepens. Her kisses feel hungry, with a need for attention, and Peter delivers.

He trails his lips down her neck, hiking up her borrowed shirt over her head as he trails kisses down her stomach. As his lips go lower, he teases the hem of her lace underwear, ready to pull them down until he hears a stern and rapid knock on the door. 

“Just ignore it, it’s probably an annoying brat selling Girl Scout Cookies or something,” Felicia gasps, running her fingers through Peter’s hair.

The knocking continues. 

“Yo, dorks, open the door,” MJ’s muffled voice address Peter and an absent Ned. Peter lifts his head up from Felicia’s stomach and frowns at her. 

“Sorry,” he mouths as he gets up from the couch to open the door and tosses the NASA shirt that was previously on the floor back at Felicia. He runs his hands through his disheveled hair in an attempt to make it look more presentable. 

He opens his door slightly and peeks through, meeting eyes with MJ – eyes filled with sadness that Peter has been all too familiar with in the past month. 

“Brad?” he ends his statement in the form of a question, although they both know what the answer is. Her eyes aren’t puffy nor are they red, but exhausted all the same. 

“Turns out, no matter how charming and cool someone is, they’re really not all that great if they don’t understand why I _ have _to belt out the lyrics to All I Want For Christmas Is You at the beginning of October,” she frowns with annoyance.

“How could someone disrespect the legend Mariah Carey like that?” 

“I know right?”

They both laugh.

“Anyway, can I come in?”

“Oh, uh,” Peter lingers in the crack of the door, scratching his head.

“Yeah, you can,” Felicia interrupts from behind Peter, fully dressed in the outfit she’d worn on their date the evening before. “I was just about to leave.” 

Peter swings the door open completely only for Felicia to brush past him and nod to MJ as they pass each other. MJ strides in, plopping on the couch that was once occupied by Felicia. He tells MJ to wait and follows Felicia down the hallway. 

“Hey,” he calls out and she turns. 

“What?” she shrugs. 

“You didn’t have to leave, I was jus–” 

“Just what? Letting her know you were busy? Cause it didn’t sound like that,” Felicia says. Her words have no anger, just blatant honesty. 

“I guess…”

“It’s okay, Peter. Your friend’s clearly desperate for some help right now, and I do not have energy listening to girls complain about boyfriends who treat them like shit,” she shudders at the thought. “You’ll just prove it to me next time.” 

She places her hand behind his neck, pulling Peter into a deep kiss, her tongue dancing in his mouth. 

“Try not to think about me too much,” she winks and walks away. 

He makes his way back to the couch next to MJ, who already made herself comfortable by sprawling her legs all over the couch. She bends her legs for Peter to be able to sit on the opposite side, one leg curled on the cushion and the other planted firmly on the floor. 

“How’s that going?” she extends her legs so they’re on top of Peter’s lap.

“Uh, it’s fine,” he rests one hand on her foot. “We’re just kind of going with the flow.” 

“We? Or she?” MJ raises her eyebrow. 

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve known you for three years, Parker, you’re not a casual-go-with-the-flow-guy.” 

He sighs, tracing the flat of MJ’s foot with his hand.

“I know – I just. Felicia’s a lot of fun. Like _ a lot _–”

“Don’t need the details.”

“Sorry. I meant I just don’t see it going anywhere serious anytime soon.”

“I get you. Things aren’t very serious with Brad either, and I don’t really want them to be,” she wiggles her foot for Peter to massage it, and he complies. “He’s not very fun.”

“You deserve someone fun,” Peter smiles. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I do,” she returns the grin. “He told me the other day he didn’t think I’d be this weird.” 

“What?” he furrows his eyebrows. 

“Yup. I told him, obviously I’m weird if I’m friends with you and Ned.

“Clearly.”

There’s a beat of silence as Peter switches his massaging from one foot to the other. 

“I think I’m going to end things with him,” she says. 

“I’m sorry?” Peter tries.

“Nah, don’t be. It was never meant to be with him anyway,” she shakes off his hands after being satisfied with the massage. 

“Oh, okay,” is all Peter lets out before she switches _ Friends _ to _ Abducted in Plain Sight_. 

He watches MJ as she watches the documentary with intent, grinning at her captivation to the narrator’s explanation of the new episode, her hair falling in a way that seems perfect and messy at the same time.

The Saturday sunshine slips through the window behind her, creating rays that outlined her head.

MJ’s his best friend – his favorite person.

“What are you staring at, Parker?” she grabs his attention.

“Nothing,” he answers, all too quickly. “You, uh, have something in your hair.” 

“Don’t be weird and just take it out then.”

He leans closer to her and finds a small piece of lint on her fringe, eyes meeting hers. 

“Hey,” he flicks the lint from his fingers.

“Hi."

There’s a glisten in her eyes, an emotion that even after years of understanding who MJ is, Peter can’t decode. It’s only when MJ licks her lips that Peter realizes their faces are only inches apart. He could do it – he could kiss her right there and then and change the course of their relationship. He could take the risk and go for it, thinking about how Felicia and he were _casual_, and that she and Brad had an expiration date around the corner. 

But as quickly as the thought flows in his head, Ned opens the front door, ready to talk about the wonderful fifth date he had with Betty.

MJ and Peter shuffle away from each other to listen to Ned, Peter slightly cursing his roommate for coming in at the wrong moment. 

But, Peter thinks, it’s always going to be the wrong moment with his best friend.  
  


* * *

For game night, Betty suggests playing Headbandz. 

“It’s easy,” she instructs, “we write down a noun under a category, and we place it on someone’s forehead. Everyone gets one, and we all ask yes or no questions and try to guess who it is.” 

“I’ll sit out,” Felicia says, “I’m not into charade-like games.” 

“You sure?” Peter places a hand on her shoulder. She nods. 

“Okay, cool. Well, Ned and I will give each other nouns, and you and MJ will do the same,” Betty places a piece of paper and markers in front of her friends. 

The category is Disney characters. He squints at MJ before scribbling down an answer. _ Rapunzel_, thinking about the last time they watched the movie and MJ pretended to not cry at the floating lights scene. 

Once the game begins and their mystery character is placed on their forehead, Betty and Ned giggle and Felicia snorts. 

After a few rounds, Ned guesses _ Simba _ correctly, and Betty decodes her _ Moana_. 

“Is mine a princess?” MJ asks. Yes! 

“Is mine from a Pixar movie?” Peter asks. No.

“Is mine a 2D animated film?” No. “So a princess not in a 2D film… and it’s not Moana… Is it Anna?” 

Everyone shakes their heads, Betty and Ned at the edge of their seats, smiling profusely, and Felicia less than intrigued. 

“Come on guys, this is an iconic moment,” Ned claps. “Figure it out.” 

“No way,” MJ throws her head back in a fit of laughter, her snort filling up the room as Ned and Betty follow along. She must have caught on.

“What?” Peter asks, not understanding the joke. 

“I’m Rapunzel,” she laughs.

“Yeah!” Peter congratulates her, still not understanding why everyone’s laughing. “Uh… I don’t know what else to ask.” 

“Oh my God,” Felicia says through her teeth. “You can literally ask anything.” 

“Am I a bad guy?” 

“Well…” Ned trails off, trying to explain the morality of his character, and then it clicks. 

“Oh my God, I’m Flynn Ryder?” he starts chuckling.

“Yes!” everyone yells and Peter finally joins in on the laughter of how coincidental their selections were for one another. 

Later that evening, Peter finishes and topples on top of Felicia, skin soaked with accomplished sweat. 

“That was fun,” Felicia exhales. “Hey, can we talk?” 

“Sure,” he ties up and tosses the condom in the trash. “What’s up?”

“I don’t think this is working out.” 

“Wait, why not?” he blinks.

“The sex is fun and all, like really fun – but I don’t know if I can commit to someone who clearly has feelings for their best friend,” she strokes his face.

“Wh- what?” Peter stutters, shocked at the blunt statement coming from Felicia. 

“You don’t have to lie, Peter,” she ties her hair up. “I’m not hurt. This wasn’t really going to last. And two and a half months is pretty good considering I could tell how you felt about MJ since like, our third date.” 

“You did?” the flush of his face no longer from the post-sex glow. “Why did you keep dating me, then?” 

“Like I said, the sex was good,” she shrugs. “But I think I’m looking for more, now.” 

“I.. I’m sorry Felicia. I hope you know I’d never do anything to–”

“I know you wouldn’t,” she kisses him again. “And that’s why I’m going to end things. You clearly need to go and do something about her.”

“I don’t know.”

“Yeah, you do,” she replies.

* * *

Three weeks pass by, and Peter hasn’t taken Felicia’s advice of going for it, their last conversation catching Peter by surprise because he really didn’t think to do anything with MJ – he never does. Plus, nothing really changes between the two of them when Peter informs his best friend that he’s no longer seeing Felicia. 

“That sucks,” MJ shrugs. “Why not?” 

“It just wasn’t meant to be,” he echoes what MJ had said about Brad a couple of months ago. 

MJ comments about how he deserves someone that can commit to him, and they move on from the topic.

It wasn’t until the two were at the grocery store on a Monday night filling up their cart with ingredients for their Christmas dinner with Ned and Betty when something changes. 

Peter’s in charge of making the entreé, since he had been deemed the best chef out of the four, and MJ, who can’t cook for the life of her, opted for the cocktails and dessert.

“I need just need basil,” he reads off the list MJ scribbled before they took off for the store. 

“We should get ice cream, too,” MJ comments, “for tonight or something.” 

“What’s tonight?” 

“Well, we both have zero plans, so we’re hanging out?” she puts her hands on her hips. 

“Sure,” he shakes his head as he smiles. 

“What?” she nudges him.

“Nothing…” he’s peering over at the spices in the aisle. She ditches him for the frozen food section and returns with a pint of strawberry and another of chocolate, dropping it into the cart.

“You gonna steal my chocolate pint again?” 

“We buy two so that I can taste both of them, Peter. You should know this by now,” she leans on the cart. 

“That’s why I said it,” he nudges her. “You’re always taking my stuff.”

He pinches the fabric of his gray hoodie she’s currently wearing. 

“I hope you know this is mine now. You can ask to borrow it, though,” she shrugs. 

“I already do that with my favorite Star Wars shirt,” he snorts. “You’re lucky you’re my favorite.”

MJ doesn’t say anything back. He turns to her and sees her looking at Peter with a frown.

“What?” he pouts back.

“You’re my favorite, too,” she states, leaning a little too far back to the cart that it wheels away, almost causing her to fall. Luckily, Peter’s there to catch her. 

“Hey,” he smiles, looking at her, his hand placed in the small of her back. 

“Hi,” she breathes, faces inches away from each other, the same look in her eyes that she started to give him a few months ago. And finally, everything clicks for Peter. Maybe it was the way she laughed when he caught her on reflex – making a joke about being a superhero, or maybe it was the way he looked at her and felt like he’s forgotten the feeling of loneliness – but somehow, Peter finally understands that there will never be a _ perfect _time to go for it, to risk it all. 

So right then and there, in the middle of the spice section at the grocery store, he leans forward, closing the space between them. He’s elated and happy and laughs at himself because, of course, taking the risk was never going to ruin their relationship, but uplift it. 

It feels as if they’ve kissed before as if they should’ve been doing this a long time ago like the kiss is late because everything else feels the same. Their love for each other was always there, lingering in the back of their minds as they joined each other during movie marathons or sang along to female pop artists.

MJ’s his best friend, his favorite girl, the person he'll always have in his life. And from the way she looks at Peter after they part their lips from each other’s, he just _knows_ he’s that person for MJ, too. 

And nothing can change that. 

* * *

_I still wanna be your favorite boy_

_I wanna be the one_

_I might just be the one_

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: @spideysmjs / Tumblr: @briens


End file.
